Tricia C. – Schaumburg, IL

Saturday, December 27, 2014

I will never forget the first day of the rest of my life—the moment that I told my family I did not want to be overweight anymore.It was something I thought about but never had the courage to do. I signed up for a Life Time membership that night in August and set up a consultation with a trainer for the next morning. I was almost a “no show” for my appointment. I was embarrassed that I let myself get to this point, and I thought that no trainer would understand. Reluctantly, I forced myself to the gym and met with Dan. He asked me what my goals were and why I decided that today was the time to change. I had no words, just tears. After going through different training options, I decided that the best option for me would be one-on-one training sessions. The next obstacle was to figure out how I was going to make this work financially. I went home and called my closest family members, begging them to make an investment in me—in my journey. They believed in me, and I went back that day for my first training session.

That weekend was the beginning of the 90-Day Challenge, and I had my first official weigh-in. I thought the scale was broken. I knew I was overweight, but my body fat fell in the obese range! I vowed from this day forward that I would no longer treat my body the way I had been for the last seven years. No more daily fast food, late night cookie and brownie binge eating and no more ten Diet Cokes a day. I started drinking water, which was something I normally only drank maybe once or twice a month. I woke up early every morning to eat a protein-packed breakfast and prepare my healthy lunch and snacks. I started taking daily multivitamins that I picked up at Life Café and drinking daily protein shakes. People I work with wondered who this new Trish was, as they have never seen me snack on vegetables and carry a water bottle around. The first two weeks were hard, but I felt alive inside with my new love of water and green vegetables. I no longer craved salty and sugary foods. I was empowering myself like I never had before, and food became my fuel instead of my crutch.

Weigh-in Tuesdays and my weekly training sessions were my new favorite days. Every time I weighed in and saw my progress, I felt like I could conquer the world. My training sessions got more intense every week, and I thought Dan the trainer was intentionally trying to kill me. I whined a lot, but he never let me quit. Week after week my hard work was being recognized on the scale. Other people’s successes on the leaderboard motivated me to work even harder. Halfway through the Challenge, I realized how much I wanted this. I wanted to win. I started to believe that I could win. I then decided that I would purchase the D.TOX kit Dan kept telling me about. The first seven days were rough without eating my beloved Greek yogurt, but my body was feeling like it never had before. I soon found out that the D.TOX kit was a piece of cake compared to the last and final week depletion diet that my trainer advised me to complete.

As a mother of two and a wife, there were many days along my journey when I felt completely selfish for investing all of this time and money into my newfound passion of healthy living. There were many days when the laundry did not get done, the house was a mess and dinner was brought home from Life Café. I couldn’t do it all, even though I was feeling like I had superhero strength. I felt guilty for putting myself first, but it was what I needed. I did not want to ever again be asked how far along I was and if I was expecting a boy or a girl.

I had lost pieces of who I was with every pound I gained over the years. I was a person I no longer recognized in the mirror. I needed to find the person that I had lost along the way. The last ninety days have given me more than body fat and weight loss. I started at 34.3 percent body fat, and today I am 18.8. However, more importantly, I have found myself and am renewed with optimism that I can do things I never thought possible. My new strength extends beyond the weight I can now lift. I believe in myself and that is strength like no other.

The Success Stories testimonials presented are applicable to the individuals depicted only and may not be representative of the experiences or results of others. Life Time Fitness does not guarantee any individual results. Factors such as diet, genetic makeup, overall health and physiological differences may influence results. Please consult with your physician before embarking on any new nutritional and exercise program. Nothing contained herein is intended to substitute medical advice, care, diagnosis or treatment of your physician. Individuals were not compensated for testimonials. Results not typical.

*Individual results may vary. Factors such as diet, genetic makeup, overall health and physiological differences may influence results. Please consult with your physician before embarking on any new nutritional and exercise program. Results not typical. Average pounds lost (Weight Loss) and percentage change in body fat (Transformation) for participants with at least two weigh-ins or composition tests were 10 lb. and 7.5% in total body fat. See Official Rules for details and prize information. All amounts are in USD.

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